Californians Give Wispy Nod to Legalizing Pot

Although nearly half of California voters endorse a measure to allow them to grow and use marijuana, the overall support for the ballot measure is as elusive as the Cheshire Cat in “Alice in Wonderland.”

One-third of the 49 percent who support the measure to legalize the measure on the November ballot do so only “somewhat,” according to the Los Angeles Times/USC poll. And the vast majority of the 41 percent who oppose the measure believe it will worsen social problems, the poll found.

One in 10 is undecided, which coincidentally — perhaps, even ironically — matches the number of those polled who said they had lit up during the past year. One in 3 of those surveyed acknowledged trying a toke in the past.

"The good news for proponents is that they are starting off with a decent lead,” USC pollster Dan Schnur told The Los Angeles Times. “The good news for the opposition is that initiatives that start off at less than 50 percent in the polls usually have a hard time."